And now three

On By CarynIn chickens, Coop

I lost my first chicken to predation this week. When I checked on the four remaining hens, one of the Faverolles was unmoving and had clearly been snacked on. Reviewing the camera footage showed a young skunk galavanting all over the inside of the coop. The chicken it killed was feeling poorly, she had been sleeping on the floor for a couple days rather than on the roost. I didn’t think anything of it because I’d never had a predator invade, I just built her up a throne of pine shavings in the corner so she could be close to her sisters.

Photo description: night view of the inside of the coop with two chickens on the roost and a skunk on the floor (the third living chicken is in a nest box)

I found where the skunk got in, the 1/4” hardware cloth on the meadow side of the runs is torn. I leave the coop door open all night during the summer to keep the temperatures down. For the last six years the runs have been secure enough to do so. Repairing the unauthorized entry will be in a future post.

Pretty boy

On By CarynIn Cats, photography
Photo description: gray and white tabby cat in n a white pillow on an Old Man of the North wooden chair

I love this picture. Thor found the side sleeper pillow I threw onto our vintage wood chair and posed quite regally. The curve of his whiskers follow the curve of the carved back of the chair, and it gives me a giggle that it looks like the Old Man is licking the cat’s head.

Redesigning fiber pages

On By CarynIn Craft

For my fiber study, I’ve been making fiber pages that have a small amount of fiber, then examples of spun, plied, knitted, crocheted, and woven fiber. I designed a small drawer for the natural fiber with the idea that it would protect the fiber from getting flattened and felted, but would still allow access to touch the fiber. It was a neat idea, but didn’t function the way I hoped. The drawer was too tall even at a quarter inch, and the stack of drawers took the brunt of the pressure and crushed, flattening the fiber. Hm. So I switched out the drawer for a plastic bag. The fiber can at least still be seen, and if necessary, the bag can be opened for closer examination of the fiber.

Photo description: two fiber pages, the one on the left shows the original drawer design, the one on the right shows the plastic bag

The advantage of the plastic bag to hold the fiber is that the pages lay nicer when stacked. The thickness of all the samples is similar and the pages lay flatter.

Photo description: two fiber pages books, the one on the left has distorted pages from the drawer stack, the right one shows how much neater the pages are when the drawer is replaced with a plastic bag.

I secure the bag to the page with brads. By keeping all the connections mechanical and avoiding glue or adhesive, it should give the pages a longer life.

I kept the foam spacers at the post side, and also added space for a 12×12 sheet after each fiber page, where I plan to put a description of each fiber, and some of the blog posts I wrote when spinning each fiber. This is definitely still a work in progress.

Throwback Thursday: crocheted doll

On By CarynIn Craft

In August 2015 I finished a crocheted doll for my youngest.

Photo description: crocheted doll with light skin, golden yarn hair, embroidered face, brown attached boots, and a blue/purple sundress

It wasn’t difficult to make, but did not end up being a very popular doll. It sat with the rest of the stuffed animals in a bin. I personally think these look better with thinner yarn and a tighter stitch, but if I were to make another soft doll, I would use fabric for the face and body because it is smoother, then crochet accessories.

Eye calibration off

On By CarynIn Craft
Photo description: two yarn turtles from a Turkish style spindle, the one on the left weighs 22g, the one on the right weighs 26g.

I’m spinning Southdown wool on a 3D printed Turkish style spindle. My eyes aren’t quite calibrated to estimate same-sized turtles when one is on the spindle and the other is off. I had a difference of 4 grams. That may not seem significant, but I can visually tell the difference when they are both off the spindle and it means the one on the right has several yards more yarn. I’m planning a three ply yarn with the singles, so need to spin another turtle. I’m aiming for the 22 g size to minimize leftover single spun yarn. Even three turtles of my hand-spun yarn that weigh the same won’t have the exact same yardage because my spin has some variation, especially across different days, but it a reasonable estimate.